Ion implantation is a standard technique for introducing conductivity-altering impurities into a workpiece. A desired impurity material is ionized in an ion source, the ions are accelerated to form an ion beam of prescribed energy, and the ion beam is directed at the surface of the workpiece. The energetic ions in the beam penetrate into the bulk of the workpiece material and are embedded into the crystalline lattice of the workpiece material to form a region of desired conductivity.
Interdigitated backside contact (IBC) solar cells are one of the highest efficiency solar cells currently on the market. For example, a homojunction IBC solar cell may have greater than 24% efficiency. However, these and other high-efficiency solar cells typically have high manufacturing costs, which may be one reason that widespread adoption has not yet occurred.
Patterning of the solar cell is one contributing cost. Lithography steps are expensive and time-consuming. The consumables involved with lithography, such as photoresist, developers, hardmasks, and chemicals for etching or stripping, likewise are expensive. Any reduced cost to the manufacturing of high-performance solar cells would have a positive impact on the implementation of solar cells worldwide. This will enable the wider availability of high-efficiency solar cells as a clean energy technology. Therefore, what is needed is an improved method of ion implantation into dielectric layers. More particularly, what is needed is an improved method of ion implantation into dielectric layers used in the manufacture of solar cells.